Pasta with Red Wine Sauce

Pasta with Red Wine Sauce

(Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist Cooks at Home, p. 42)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 lb spaghetti

1 bottle red wine, such as Chianti

1 tablespoon butter

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Place the oil, garlic, and red pepper in a large, deep skillet.

2. When the water boils, add the pasta; turn the heat under the skillet to high. Cook the pasta as usual, stirring. As soon as the garlic begins to brown, sprinkle it with salt and pepper to taste and add three-fourths of the bottle of wine (a little more than 2 cups); bring to a boil and maintain it there.

3. When the pasta begins to bend – after less than 5 minutes of cooking – drain it and add it to the wine mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding wine a little at a time if the mixture threatens to dry out completely.

4. Taste the pasta frequently. When it is done – tender but with a little bite- stir in the butter and turn off the heat. When the butter glazes the pasta, serve it immediately.